On Friday, being a Miss Illinois, Hannah Smith who is currently 20 years old, made a visit as pageant royalty in Tinley. She stopped at Elementary school of Helen Keller in the morning of Friday in order to have a talk with students about Character Counts which is a program used year-round. She said that this elementary school where she has visited for her first time as Miss Illinois made her excited. The resident staying in Rockford area said that Hannah woke up early in the morning at 4:30 A.M in order to drive to the Elementary school of Helen Keller , and she also planned to have a talk at Elementary School of John A. Bannes .

For dressing, she wore her Illinois crown, sash and very high heels. At the first start, she introduced herself to students. Plus, Hannah drew some photos of her favorite cartoon character as well as her favorite baseball team through a screen in the auditorium. Plus, one photo of hers as Miss Illinois pageant was shown at that time. While Miss Illinois asked students question about program of Character Counts, Students from grade third to fifth kept silent. Still, there were some students who shared answer with her from “personality” to “movie characters”. She advised students to use six pillars of the Character Count Program in order to be good student and pay respect to teachers as well as parents and more.

The students at the elementary school made a promise to have a practice of six pillars including respect, fairness, trustworthiness, responsibility, citizenship, and caring. All of them took many photos with Hannah. During reign as Miss Illinois , she is likely to make 300 appearances like talking with students and participating fundraisers. Interestingly, she hopes to support Miracle Network of Children by raising $10,000 in the next year. Besides being a Miss Illinois, Hannah Smith planned to have a preparation and have an appearance in the Miss American Pageant which will be held in 14 January, Las Vegas.